BlackMail Series - Chapter Seven

IN SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

“What happened to you, Dale? You were such a kind and wonderful man to me…” Cathy said with tears in her eyes. Her heart was breaking as she looked at the man who once held her heart and love for her in his eyes. She wondered why fate had played with them so. She wished she could undo time and wait for her husband… Her husband! Of course. He was the cause of this mess. He should have told her of his mission, no matter how dangerous it was. At least she would have had the patience to wait for his return. Oh what a mess… she began sobbing.

“Cathy… Cathy…” Cathy heard her name in a distance, but she felt too weak to respond. She felt a calloused hand wipe her tears, and she opened her eyes to see her husband looking down at her with worry. He dropped a light kiss on her cheek and smiled.

Zach waited for Cathy to fully wake up before helping her out of bed and into the filled bathtub. He eased her into it and began massaging her. He could not ask her about the note yet; she seemed to be struggling within. He couldn’t just add to the internal pressure he assumed she was going through. But he also wanted answers: the uncomfortable stares they had received the last time they were strolling in the neighbourhood had come back to him while he was preparing their lunch. He wondered what his wife had been up to in his absence and what his neighbours knew. Then the personality of Dale came into focus: who was he, and why did he have a key to their house? What was the relationship between him and Cathy?

So consumed was he that he did not notice he had stopped massaging Cathy and was staring at the tub in which she lay. Cathy got out of the tub and announced, “Can we have lunch now? I’m famished.” That brought Zach back to the bathroom and he got up, not realizing that he did not complete the massage he was administering to his wife.

They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Cathy was contemplating paying Dale quickly so that her marriage could be saved, or telling Zach the truth and leaving the choice to him. She was visibly distressed. Zach on the other hand was planning how to get the nosy neighbours to tell him what they know about his wife’s activities in his absence. He decided to go for a walk.

After the meal, Zach left Cathy to clean up the kitchen – she seemed to need that much space – and went walking, hoping to meet a loose tongue who will satisfy his ears. He took the same route as the other day and headed for the park. Being a sunny day, he knew he might run into an old acquaintance. If he didn’t, he intended striking a conversation with the shopkeepers there: surely, they would have bits of information which might give insight into the situation.

As fate would have it, he ran into Maxwell, his old high school mate who also happened to have had a crush on Cathy but was rejected. After exchanging pleasantries, Maxwell began to provide information inadvertently. He had seen him (Zach) with Cathy several times at the beach resort that was opened recently. He had envied them in a distance, wishing Cathy would look his way instead. He had even greeted them on one of such occasions: did Zach not remember? “You are really blessed with a young and vibrant wife with whom you are in love and are not afraid to make the whole world know.” Maxwell finished with a smile. He patted Zach on the shoulder, wished him the very best and walked on, not noticing the change in Zach.

Zach was warring within. He could not come to terms with what he had just heard: Cathy had been with another man, and in public to boot! No wonder the neighbours were staring. While he had been away thinking of her, protecting all of them, she had been whoring. He held his head in his hands and sat down heavily on the bench nearest to him. How could Cathy have done that to him? To them? After everything they had come through?! He was livid. Instead of going home, he passed by the town’s only pub. Surely she would have come there with her amour; he could get more information from there.

As soon as he opened the door of the pub and entered, all conversation hushed. They looked at him as if they had seen a ghost. For a brief moment, Zach wanted to walk out but he called on his soldier skills, squared his shoulders, walked straight to the counter, and sat on one of the stools available. “Give me a bottle of Hunter’s Dry, please”, he told the bartender in his calmest voice. The bartender, looking aghast himself, delivered his drink with shaky hands. “Thank you,” Zach said. Seeming to be satisfied that the person who just entered was not a ghost, conversation resumed. Being the only customer at the counter, Zach signaled the bartender to get closer. When the bartender did, Zach asked him, “How long have you been here, mate?”

The bartender replied, “Three years, sir.”

“Mmm… This pub seems to be filled with men. Do women come here too?”

“Yes, but not often.” The bartender began to relax and smiled, deciding that there was nothing to fear with Zach. “In fact, the only women who came here frequently were two whores, my girlfriend, and another woman who came here with a man. They used to sit there”, the bartender pointed to a secluded table in the pub where no one sat. It appeared private. “I don’t know but they stopped coming here a few weeks ago. Yesterday, the man came here and got himself very drunk.”

“Do you by chance know this man’s name?” Zach pushed.

“I don’t think I should be telling you that.” The bartender seemed to withdraw.

“I understand. Thank you.” Zach paid for his drink and got up to leave.

“Wait,” the bartender called, “you haven’t even touched your drink.”

“It’s yours now,” Zach called back. “Keep the change too.”

Zach took his time to get home, trying to process all the information he had received. What was clear was that Cathy was with another man in his absence. He was sure the other man was Dale. It suddenly dawned on him why Dale appeared lost when Cathy had fainted. He also finally understood why Cathy had fainted that fateful day. But they had made the most passionate love yesterday. Whom was she thinking of: him or Dale? Oh God, he sighed. He touched his back pocket to make sure that his ‘evidence’ was there, and walked home.

Cathy had dutifully cleaned out the hall and kitchen and had even washed and pressed his clothes but she was nowhere to be found. He quietly let himself through the hall into the bedroom only to find her in the middle of a tornado in the bedroom. “What happened here?” Zach inquired.

“Nothing. I’m just rearranging the room…” Cathy replied. “Where could it be?” Cathy muttered. Apparently, Zach heard because he dipped his hand into his back pocket, pulled out a sheet of paper, and asked her, “Is this what the rearrangement is about?” Zach snarled, a frown forming on his forehead. Cathy’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her scream of surprise. “Cathy, tell me why you would be receiving such notes from anonymous people.”

The moment she had been praying would never come had arrived. What should she say now? Would Zach even believe her?